


take me home to my heart

by heyvivalapluto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abusive Parents, Altean Prince Lance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Childhood Friends, Childhood friends to enemies to lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Galra Shiro (Voltron), Galra Soldier Keith, Jealous Keith (Voltron), M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, lance and allura are twins, non-binary Pidge, they/them pronouns for Pidge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyvivalapluto/pseuds/heyvivalapluto
Summary: “Well, maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much. But maybe this thing was a masterpiece till you tore it all up. Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well. And you call me up again just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest.”Keith and Lance have known each other for what it feels like a lifetime - well, close enough. They know each other like they know their own minds and, when you’re best friends, that’s great. But when you’re enemies? Even better.In which Lance is Allura’s twin and Keith is (half) Galra, and they end up freezing together for the last 10,000 years. Now that they are free and find out about Zarkon still being alive, they choose sides.[ Altean Prince!Lance and (Half) Galra Soldier!Keith ]
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor Allura/Lotor - Relationship, Minor Hunk/Shay - Relationship, Minor Matt/Shiro - Relationship
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. trouble usually finds me.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, everyone. hope you’re doing great. here I am with a Klance fic, because I couldn't hold myself. so, first things first:
> 
> \- keith is half galra, his other half being a shapeshifter alien race. 
> 
> \- krolia was part of zarkon’s army and keith was training to one day be one of his soldiers. but when krolia found out about zarkon’s plans she tried to leave - she’s considered a filthy traitor by the empire and keith doesn’t know what to think of it.
> 
> \- besides zarkon visiting altea, krolia is also a close friend to the altean queen - which meant that keith could visit lance a lot when they were kids.
> 
> \- shiro is a galra commander, but he only met keith after he unfroze and came back to the empire, 10,000 years later. 
> 
> \- matt still went to the kerberos mission and things went south. he meets shiro when he’s captured.
> 
> \- pidge and hunk found the blue lion, who allowed them to pilot it temporarily when blue sensed the galra might be close to earth. blue took them to lance, who she misses and is already her chosen pilot. 
> 
> \- they found the lion in one of pidge’s search for their family. 
> 
> \- pidge and hunk unfreeze coran, allura, lance and keith (keith who froze by lance’s side in the same pod) 
> 
> \- the alteans and the galra boy find out about zarkon still being alive and keith decides to leave them to join the empire. 
> 
> \- the war will last way longer than canon because they can't form Voltron (they only have the blue, yellow and green paladins), which makes it difficult for the team to work with - not to mention win.
> 
> good reading, y’all.

It was supposed to be a simple mission.

Keith runs as fast as his body allows through the corridors, following a pattern that he’s so used to. He can’t believe this is happening.  _ How can this be happening? _ Keith thinks indignant. He stops when he feels the pain becoming unbearable. The Galra soldier leans against the walls, trying not to fall. He presses his wounds with his left hand, trying to stop the bleeding. He can’t. He feels the blood starting to soak his hand. This was supposed to be a simple mission. 

It all started when his commander sent Keith with a small troop of soldiers to an inhabited planet. It was supposed to be a recognization mission, the usual. Collect data, check if there was any useful material and confirm if it was actually deserted. 

Keith at the time was infuriated. That was a waste of time and a waste of his skills. 

_ “I can’t believe this!” He said, holding his weapon a little too tight.  _

_ “So you’ve said for the last five minutes.” Shiro mumbled with a bored look as he accompanied Keith on the hallways. He sighed, giving him a wise smile.  _ That one. _ “Keith, not all missions are interesting.”  _

_ “Yeah, but I was at least expecting to receive a real mission.” Keith answered bitterly. “Why am I being assigned for these kind of missions when I could be helping in battle? Shiro, you know I fight better than half of those troops that go to action.”  _

_ “Yes, I know that. But you still have to prove your value, and even more importantly, your loyalty to them.” Shiro explained. _

_ “I’m not to blame if my parents were traitors.” He hisses. _

_ “Again, I know that. They don’t.”  _

_ “I’m-“ Keith sighed, stopping at the door where they would part. Shiro used to go to that type of mission. Not anymore. Now he was a lieutenant commander and Keith hated that Shiro didn’t need to go, because having a friend there, would make it less boring. “I’ve proven myself so many times I lost count.” _

_ “Remember: patience...” _

_ “... yields focus. Yeah, I know.” He looked at the door with a blank stare. He really didn’t want to go. They said their goodbyes, but Keith was no less angry.  _

_When landed on said planet, Keith followed protocol as he was told - there was nothing else to do, really. He did everything according to procedure and, as he imagined, there was nothing special about that place and it wasn’t worthy of their attention, after all. What a shock._

_ But before Keith and his troop could get back to the ship, they felt the ground shaking. They realized that the ground was unstable because big creatures, with long bodies, and uncountable legs and teeth, were trying to come out to the surface. And after that, Keith is not sure in what order things happened. _

_ He remembers the other soldiers screaming to go back to the ship, but Keith, hothead Keith, didn’t listen. He was angry and now he could target it at something. So, instead he ran towards said creatures with weapon in hands and fire in his eyes. He could use some action and he would never deny a good fight. Stupid.  _

_ He also remembers flashes of blue, green and yellow flying nearby. His squad was kept busy with that, while Keith tried singlehanded to destroy those creatures. Today was definitely not a good day.  _

He groans frustrated. Keith closes his eyes in pain and tries to clear his head, but all he can think about is the way everyone will look at him when he gets back to his base.

Many doubted he could ever make part of Zarkon’s army. But Keith didn’t listen ( as usual ), because he knew and knows he’s the perfect soldier. So Keith tried anyway and became the best he could be. He knows exactly what to do, he knows all the protocols and he was the best at his training. Keith is _perfect_ for any mission. 

Yeah, he admits he has a problem with following orders and an explosive personality - which is to blame for the whole situation he finds himself now, but he rather not think about it -, but he only disobeys when he doesn’t trust neither respect the one giving orders. Keith grinds his teeth. Not ideal, but he’s effective and that should weight more than his flaws - even if he believes they’re actually qualities. Being fearless, feral and decisive (not to say stubborn) is a good thing in a war.

Although, now that Keith has to think about how to get out of this mess, those so called qualities might not be such a good thing. He sighs deeply, then he sprints. Keith doesn’t have time to lose. Soon they will realize there’s an intruder and he won’t survive. Not because of the wounds he already has, but for the new ones they might cause.

He realizes he can’t run much more. His legs are shaking and Keith knows he’s losing too much blood. He tries a glance over his shoulder and he sees a track of blood following him.  _Quiznak_. 

Keith looks around him, just to be sure if he’s going the right way. Of course he is. The Galra soldier has run through these corridors so many times that it’s all pure reflex. Every door, every turn. That thought leaves a bittersweet taste on his tongue. 

_ “Hey! Wait up!” He could hear a child scream.  _

_ “You can’t blame me if you’re the slowest alien in the whole galaxy.” Keith answers between laughter. But his voice echoes through the corridors and it sounds so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. _

_ “You’re cheating!” The little boy screams, wide smile. _

_ “Can’t do anything if you’re such a loser!” Keith retorts as soon as he touch the wall, where the race should end. “Maybe one day you’ll be the king of losers.”  _

_ “No, I won’t!” Lance says half laughing, pushing Keith. “I let you win.”  _

_ “No, you didn’t! I win fair and square.”  _

Keith stares at the door, trying to hold himself together. He checks the floor and he’s surrounded by his own blood - it’s not enough for him to die without it, but the vision scares him. Keith holds his hand up, closed into a fist, ready to knock. Just like he used to do all the time. He looks at his right hand that’s also covered in blood - from the wounds over his shoulder, that’s following a course through his whole arm. 

Keith sighs and knocks. A few seconds later the door opens, showing the last person he wanted to see, but his only choice. “Your highness.” He greets weakly. 

The prince in front of him has wide eyes and is looking at him as if he were a ghost. A phantom from the past maybe. “ _You_.” He says with poison dripping in his voice, now looking furious. 

Lance is still wearing his battle suit, just arrived from his last mission, and he looks completely shocked to see him there. Keith glares at him with a teasing smile. “Surprise.”

The prince flinches at the sound of Keith’s voice, as if it pulls him into reality. He grabs his bayard by instinct, unlocking it into his weapon. “How did you get in here?” Lance says with a threatening tone, taking a few steps away from Keith.

Keith scoffs, weakly. He doesn’t lose his time answering as he pushes his way into the room. He can’t afford for someone else to see him there. Lance seems offended, since he’s not been taken seriously. Keith turns around and look at him, analyzing, as soon as the door closes behind them. 

Lance’s armor is different from the rest of the paladins. Keith doesn’t know if it’s because he’s the prince or because he’s, you know, Lance. His armor has golden details around Voltron’s blue symbol to match Lance’s crown - that he wears so proud, even on battle. And around his hips there’s extra protection that is similar to his formal cape. Everything matches perfectly and Keith gets angry at that. He’s not sure why.

He rolls his eyes, annoyed. “Nice suit.” He starts. “But we are fighting a war, not posing for fashion magazines.” His tone is harsh. 

Lance hesitates for a second. He wasn’t expecting the comment, but that doesn’t stop him from opening a cocky smile behind his rifle. “So, you think I look good.” He says with a soothing voice, making Keith groan. 

“I didn’t come to evaluate your outfits.” Keith retorts rapidly. 

“Didn’t think so.” Lance lowers his rifle enough for Keith to get a clear sight of his face. “Then why are you here, messing my room, dripping blood all over my castle?” 

“What? Am I not welcome here?” He asks sarcastic.

“Even bleeding, you have to be petty.” 

“I am not.” Keith snaps, showing his fangs. His reaction causes a twinge in his wounds, making him exclaim in pain.

“Easy, space cat.” He transforms his weapon back into a bayard, placing carefully at his hips. Lance gets a little closer, walking surrounding Keith. His eyes are full of worry, as if suspicion was never there. “What happened?” He asks softly, careful to not touch him and Keith doesn’t like that.

“You happened.” He rises his tone, filled with anger.

“Excuse me?” Lance flinches with the tone of his response. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, for starters, your team blew up my ship.” He says accusatory. Keith suddenly feels his legs giving out and he leans against Lance’s dressing table. He realizes that Lance changed the way he organizes his skin care products. Keith doesn’t like that he was able to notice that. “And then exploded most part of the planet my troop and I were. Leaving me alone there.” 

Lance takes a moment to absorb. “You were the soldier holding off the creatures.” He says under his breath, in disbelief. He tries to recompose himself, clearing his throat and laying a hand on his hip. “I should’ve known it was you. No one would do something this stupid and reckless.” 

“If I remember correctly, in Threkon you were the one trying to ride those wild flying monster as the others tried to run from it.” Keith retorts with a half smile, that he almost can’t bring himself to open because of the pain. 

“That’s not the same!” Lance’s voice raises an octave, cracking. 

He snorts. “It’s exactly the same, Lan-“ Keith interrupts himself as if his own tongue burned with that word. “Your majesty.” 

Lance huffs. “Whatever.” He looks away with a pout, crossing his arms against his chest. Keith scoffs at the sight, but he regrets it because doing so hurts. He groans as quiet as he can, but Lance’s attention is caught anyway. “You’re a complete disaster.” He says exasperated.

“Oh, am I?” He answers, Keith’s tone dripping bitter sarcasm. 

Lance rolls his eyes, uncrossing his arms, now getting a little closer to Keith. Keith tries to get away from Lance’s touch, but the prince stubbornly grabs his left wrist and tries to get a good look at his wounds. “Holy quiznak, how does anyone let you out of their sight? Stop picking fights you aren’t ready for.” He mumbles to himself with an annoyed look.

“I can take care of myself. I don’t need to be supervised.” Keith snaps, answering childishly. 

“But can you?” Lance gives him an unamused look. “Then why are you at my door, Mullet?” He asks again, now demanding.

“Because-“ Keith starts full of range, just to realize there’s no answer and they fall into silence. Lance gives him a know-it-all smile, satisfied with the lack of response. The prince goes to his wardrobe, searching for towels. Keith feels ashamed, he looks at the ground trying to assimilate. He’s being stupid, he’s being pathetic, he’s being irrational. Why? Maybe it’s the blood loss. Yes, that’s it. Blood loss. “I don’t know.” He answers weakly.

Keith realizes that when he looks at Lance again, his vision is blurry. He now recognizes that his weak voice is because he’s not controlling himself like he’s used to. He’s about to pass out. “I can’t...” Keith walks in his direction and grabs Lance’s arm holding on as tight as he can, to do something he hopes he’ll forget when he wakes up. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go... help.” 

He can see Lance’s shock in his eyes and Keith grins with the reaction. At least, he thinks he does, because after that the world goes black. Keith has never felt so fragile and incapable. 

** && **

“Typical. Keith asking for help means he actually has to be dying and he just pass out right after he does.” Lance mumbles, as he grabs Keith in his arms, in bridal style, and lay him gently on his bed. “Why am I surprised?” 

Lance passes his hands nervously through his hair, trying to think.  _What he’s supposed to do?_ Keith appears at this door after two months and expect Lance to do what? Of course the prince wants to help, he’s not an animal. And  no, there’s nothing to do with their... _past_. Nope. Lance is just a really good person. He inhales deeply and exhales.  _Okay, okay... okay. Just calm down_. He tells himself. 

Lance is stepping into Keith’s blood and that makes him do the opposite of calming down.  _Quiznak, Keith. Why do you have to be such a hothead? _ He quickly grabs more towels to help cover Keith’s wounds, and maybe stop the bleeding? He’s not sure, but it’s worth a try. Lance sighs again trying to control himself. What would his father do? “Well, he would scream at me.” He jokes under his breath. “So, not the best option.” 

He thinks about the pods, that are the obvious choice, but how can he explain the others? He shivers at that. Oh, no. The others wouldn’t mind that Keith’s hurt. They didn’t cause his injury and, _well_ , they hate Keith. Allura specially. He knows they are not cruel, but at wars people die. What can you do? “Something.” He answers himself bitterly. 

Lance grabs his communicator that should be only used for emergencies. _This is an emergency_. He thinks stubbornly. “Coran.” He starts, trying to maintain his voice calm. 

“Yes, your highness?” Coran chipper tone echoes in his ears. 

“I need you to quarantine the path from my room to the infirmary. No one else is allowed near it, until further notice.” Lance doesn’t recognize his own voice. Coran flinches at the order. 

“And, if you don’t mind me asking, why is that?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.” He starts, darkly. “Not even Allura.”

“Is everything alright?” Coran can’t hold himself as he voice cracks full of worry. He cleans his throat trying to recompose himself. “I, Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, promise you.”

At that, Lance shoulders drop. How exactly can he explain what happened? Hell, he doesn’t even know what just happened. Lance licks his dry lips. He decides it’s better to show him as he turns the camera of his device to Keith, who’s lying in his bed contaminating his whole bed with his blood. 

Coran’s eyes go wide with horror filling them. That’s probably the first time Lance sees Coran go speechless. The advisor wakes up from his surprise shaking his head. “Bring him to the infirmary. I’ll take care of the rest.” He announces right before hanging up.

Lance doesn’t lose a heartbeat. He grabs Keith once again and start running. 

** && **

At first, he feels soft touches. On his arm, on his hand, on his leg. And a warm presence near him. He likes that. He registers that he’s actually feeling another person touching him. Keith now thinks that that’s not common. People don’t touch him and specially not on his sleep. People don’t touch hands and legs with him as they feel his arm. 

Keith opens his eyes and doesn’t recognize his arounds. He notices a totally different decoration from the Galra ships, but familiar at the same time. He’s not home. That’s not a good sign. Normally, Keith would be high alert with this information, but for some reason he feels drained. 

He blinks, trying to clear his vision. Keith realizes he’s in a soft bed that has a floral perfume. Again, strange, but not unfamiliar. Lazily, he turns his head to the side and a silhouette grabs his attention. His eyes go wide open and he tries to rapidly move away from the body near him, almost falling off the bed. 

“Keith, what are you doing?” Hearing Lance’s sleepy voice does something to him. He freezes. 

Keith stares at the scene in front of him, as he registers that he’s in Lance’s room. In Lance’s  _bed_ . He tries as hard as he can to understand what’s happening and if this is real or not. Keith’s eyes are caught by what he’s wearing and how the prince’s pajama feel so out of place and a little loose for him. 

Something clicks. He starts to remember in flashes what happened: him fighting strange creatures, then running through the castle. Keith asking Lance for help, then rapid visions of the pods and the prince carrying him around.

_ “You’re such a mess.” Lance mumbles under his breath. _

_ “Coran, you can’t tell this to anyone. Please.” He almost misses the request, because the prince’s voice is so low.  _

_ “I still have to clean the blood and it’s your fault. I should leave it to  _ you _ to clean this up.” A complaint.  _

_ “Please, don’t die... please.” A cry. _

_ “I’ve missed you.” A whisper. A secret.  _

He shakes his head trying to push away the memories, in denial. Keith growls. He stands up on reflex and that makes Lance grunt in disapproval. 

“Just go back to sleep, you weirdo.” The prince says, voice groggy from sleep. 

Keith looks at him horrified. The prince has his eyes closed peacefully and just a second ago he was dangerously near the galra soldier while  _sleeping_ . He can’t believe this scenario. Keith is the enemy, he’s literally a threat to anyone in the castle and, to his utter shock, he is not even cuffed anywhere - just to be safe.  _What’s wrong with you, Lance? How did they survive so long when they don’t even think about cuffing or guarding a prisoner?_

He feels like he should run. But... Keith feels so tired. But why? Now that he’s thinking more clearly, he notices that his location is wrong. He should wake up in the infirmary, inside a pod. Keith should also be fully recovered and yet, he feels a crushing pain on his shoulder. 

By instinct, he touches his shoulder. It’s not bleeding nor out of place. But there’s a scar - he can feel it, even with his clothes on -, and that means not even the pods could fix him. He sighs deeply. He still needs recovery.

Keith looks around again, changing his normal eyes to yellow, so he can see in the dark. He sees the door and start walking towards it, trying not to make a sound. But of course, Lance’s bedroom is not so organized and Keith kicks something, his eyes didn’t quite catch, that makes noise. 

Lance moves in his bed, changing position. He stays quiet for a moment and the Galra soldier almost believes he went back to sleep. “Where you going, dearest?” He mumbles.

The pet name makes him shiver. "Uh-“

“Come back to bed.” He whines. 

Keith knows Lance. He knows everything there’s to know about him and vice versa, which always made their battles more interesting. So, of course he knows Lance is half awake and he won’t remember anything when he actually wakes up. The prince probably thinks he’s dreaming, so he’s just speaking non-sense. Keith could easily go away. 

But then again, Keith is so tired. Exhausted, to be exact. He’s not sure for how long he’s been lights out, but somehow feels like it wasn’t enough to rest. And Lance... Lance is there and he’s asking for him to stay. God knows when will it be the next time Keith will get to have a non-threatening conversation with the prince or even see him. Being in a war is all about uncertain.

He glances at the door and Keith feels tempted to stay. Lance won’t even remember this happened, right? And... it’s just one night,  _right_ ? One night of rest. Yeah, that doesn’t sound ridiculous. Actually, seems like the rational choice, since he’s tired, in recovery and there’s a comfortable bed calling his name. Yeah, he’s just being rational. 

Keith slowly turns around, resisting the tiny voice in his head saying repeatedly how he shouldn’t stay; that he should run when he can and never talk about the subject. He closes his hands into tight fists, annoyed by his own thoughts. 

The Galra soldier lays on the bed cautiously, trying not to move the mattress a lot. He closes his eyes and forces himself to go to sleep immediately as he tries his hardest to not debate anymore about it.

Lance hums in recognition of Keith’s body, almost sounding... satisfied. That makes Keith’s body relax instantly and when he feels the prince’s hand on his arm - a habit Lance has since they were children, because he loves to feel people, specially asleep -, he is caught in a warm feeling. 

He’s just being rational. _Rational_. 


	2. they are both stubborn and it's complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves; Chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there’s no us. Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It's on your face, and I'm to blame, I need to say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I took a long time to post, but I've actually been working on many different pics all at once. I know. It's not smart to do that. Yeah, I'm my worst enemy for that (and other things). But here I am, posting as a Christmas gift. Happy holidays, people!

Keith is opening some drawers, looking for a hairdryer. He’s not sure why or who asked him to search for it, but he knows it’s what he’s supposed to do. As soon as he spots a blue shape in the corner of the wardrobe, he grabs it and goes out of the room. The halls are different from what he remembers, the lights with more touches of pink and the walls higher. The soldier starts to come up the stairs, not coming up more than two steps before his eyes finding the one he always finds anywhere he goes. _Lance_. His breathing seems to soothe, making him realize he was holding it before.

“Lance, I need to tell you something.” He starts, almost unable to swallow properly. “My mom left. She left before Zarkon attacked.” He says in one breath. Keith expects Lance to come down the stairs to his encounteer, to say something to comfort him, like he always did. The Galra boy expects his best friend to hold his hand and reassure him. But the look Lance gives him, make his stomach flip. The prince looking at him with contempt strikes his chest like a bullet, throwing him off. _Wait_. That’s not right.

“You are not Lance.” Keith states. “You would never look at me that way. This is not real. I’m dreaming.” He says, no doubt in his voice. As soon as the words come out of his mouth, the image starts dissipating right before his eyes, confirming what he just said.

When he actually opens his eyes, Keith is staring at the ceiling. _The castle’s ceiling_. He turns his head to the side, trying to find the body who should be by his side. Instead, his eyes find Lance sleeping by the door, sitting against the wall, almost drooling. His mind still dizzy from the sleep, he blinks a few more times trying to comprehend his arounds. _Why is Lance sleeping there? Did we fight?_ The last word burns a little brighter in his mind, memories coming back quick. _Oh_. Not fight, _worse_. And Lance is trying to guard the way out. His attempt could be described as cute.

Keith makes mention of getting up, but then realizing he can’t move his arms. He feels something holding his wrists and when the Galra boy looks up, he notices that he’s handcuffed. _That’s better_. He thinks sarcastic, even if it is the smart choice to restrain him.

“Shit.” He says under his breath, swinging his arms. Keith tries to use his claws, a failed attempt to free himself. He groans, frustrated.

“I would chain you with me,” a voice startles Keith, who turns his head to see Lance getting up from the ground. The prince yaws, “but there’s a risk you might cut my hand off in the middle of the night. Like the psycho you are.”

“You’re so dramatic.” He rolls his eyes as he turns his attention to the handcuffs again.

“Whatever, Knife boy.” Lance retorts, walking to the bathroom.

Lance finishes his skin care routine, analyzing for any flaws on his skin on the mirror. After the hundredth groan coming out of his ‘guest’ mouth, he decides it’s time to leave. Besides, he does have to meet Allura before breakfast to discuss a few battle strategies. Not fun and not how he wanted to start the day, but it’s not like the past couple days have been how he pictured it would go.

“You wouldn’t have seen my keys, would you?” Lance asks, moving one of his moisturizer bottles on his dresser. When he looks up, he sees in the reflection Keith nodding in response, trying to hide his smile. “You would? And where are them?” Keith now opens his shit eating grin, staying quiet. Lance raises an eyebrow, waiting for the answer. Realizing the raven boy is not going to answer, he groans. “Are you not telling me because you don’t want to talk and raises suspicion to the others or because you’re a jerk?”

Keith tilts his head a little, the grin never disappearing. _Stupid mullet_. Lance thinks, grinding his teeth. _He’s having too much fun with this and I’m already late._ He marches closer to him.

“Where are my keys?” The prince demands. Keith just stares at him, his teeth almost sparkling with joy. Lance sighs, turning around. “Uh, the sofa? Is it getting warmer?” Silence. Again. “Oh, come on! I defeated you fair and square, Keith. Why can’t you accept your death with dignity and maturity and play ‘you’re getting hot or cold’ with me?” Lance whines loudly, crossing his arms. Receiving the eye roll from his enemy is the last straw. “Fine. I’ll find my keys myself and teach you the meaning of grace under fire.”

Lance decides to move the sofa and by the laugh coming from the prisoner, he supposes he’s very cold on his search. He looks up to give him a dirty look. Keith has an amused smile on his lips that instantly drops when he hears someone knocking on the door. They look at each other in silence, both with wide eyes.

“Lance, please open the door.” They hear Allura’s soothing voice.

The prince jumps over his sofa, coming to Keith’s direction. “Where is it?” He mouthes, desperate. The Galra boy just lifts his left foot, showing a tiny set of keys. _Jerk_. He unlocks the handcuffs, to free him from the bed. As soon as he guarantees that Keith is on his feet and handcuffed again, he starts pushing him around, realizing there isn’t many options of hiding. “Uh, just a minute!” _Quiznak_. Keith looks as desperate as he is.

“I just knocked because I’m polite. I don’t actually care if you don’t want to open the door.”

“And how about some privacy?” Lance retorts, trying to sound natural.

Allura scoffs. “As if.” She knocks again. “Lance, I’m coming in.”

“No, you’re not!” He raises his tone. Lance shoves Keith inside his bathroom giving a deadly glare, indicating that he’s prohibited from messing anything in there.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Allura says exasperated, behind the door.

“You’re ridiculous.” He tries to make his bed look a little less messy.

“Lance!”

“Fine, come in.” The door opens without hesitation, rapidly. “Hey, Allura.”

The princess walks into the room, with an untouchable posture and a frown. “Is everything okay?”

“Wha- Why... why are you asking?”

“Well, your behavior has been odd since we came back from our last mission. Odd even for you.” She says factually, looking at the sofa out of place. “Besides, it’s been days since we had a sleepover. So, you must be hiding something.”

“Hiding? Pfft. What? No.” Lance waves one of his hands, dismissing Allura’s suspicions. “I just... I’ve been busy.”

“May I ask with what?”

“You may not.”

Allura sighs tired. “Why are you like this?”

“Because it’s my job to make your life harder.” He offers a smirk.

“You’ve been employee of the month for the last ten thousand years. You must be proud.”

“Haha, very funny.” Lance rolls his eyes.

“Lance.” Allura calls, now looking more serious. “Is everything alright?”

The prince’s shoulders drop. He knows Allura worries because she’s his twin sister and she loves him. He feels bad about lying, but he doesn’t have much choice, considering Allura might kill Keith _and_ Lance. “Yes, everything is alright.” He answers exactly the way their etiquette teacher taught them.

She sighs deeply, accepting that answer. _For now_. Allura is too smart and she has always been able to see right through Lance, besides how hard he tries to hide something. Although, he never actually tries to hide anything, because Allura is his confidant. She’s always the first one to know.

“Very well, then. Breakfast will be ready soon, don’t be late.” The princess says, before passing delicately one of her hands on Lance’s hair, caressing it. He smiles hoping he doesn’t seem as suspicious as he feels. She turns on her heels and leave, giving a last glance over her shoulder.

As soon as the door closes, he lets out a deep breath that he didn’t even notice he was holding. Lance goes to the bathroom’s door and knocks, making it open instantly as it shows Keith behind it, with a raised eyebrow.

“You still make sleepovers with your sister?” Keith asks with a teasing smile.

“Shut up, Keith.” Lance says turning his back as he starts walking. “Besides, you know I hate sleeping alone.” He throws his body into his bed. Lance groans against his pillow.

“Don’t tell me you feel bad for not telling everything to Lura.” Keith receives another groan from the prince. “You should tell her. She loves me, so she will actually be glad I came to visit.”

Lance turns his body up and tilts his head to look at the galra. “Loves you? Oh yeah, she would _love_ to kill you.”

Keith shrugs, not caring about the details. “You should go, your highness. It’s not polite to be late.”

“I despise you.” He says, getting up. The prince decides to just lock Keith on the bathroom while he’s gone. The bastard does not deserve the comfort of his pillows, he concludes.

Breakfast was basically Lance grabbing what Hunk calls a ‘toast’ and heading to the training room. Lately, the prince hasn’t been hungry, a weird feeling in his stomach accompanying him at all times. He figures it’s anxiety about someone finding out about Keith in his room, although he’s not sure that’s it.

He stayed inside his room guarding the prisoner for a whole day before the team started asking questions and wanting to visit him. Lance decides then he should go back to his daily routine, but how could he leave one of the most dangerous people unguarded on his sanctuary? Oh, that seemed wrong. But then again, the others couldn’t find Keith was even in the castle. He knew they would suggest locking him up on the actual cells and, worst case scenario, flush him on the wide open space. Lance couldn’t blame them, Keith did almost kill them multiple times. But he couldn’t bring himself to let that happen either. So, yeah, not a great plan, but at least it was a plan right? Go out for a few hours, talk to people and then come back to deal with the Galra boy. He could roll with that, he thinks.

The prince was held back longer that he expected, only being able to come back to his dorm at a late hour. Turns out, people wait to need him only when he has something else to do. _That’s the only explanation_ , he thinks marching to find something odd at his door.

“He destroyed my door?” Lance screams indignant. The vision of not only his front door completely burned down, but also his bathroom’s knocked down, making him almost catch fire with anger. He grinds his teeth as he closes his fits,walking around the room. The prince scams to see if the brat didn’t steal anything from him. “How could I’ve been this stupid?” He groans, making sure if his enemy left any trails behind. _What was I thinking? Of course he would run away_. Lance thinks bitterly. At the same that Keith didn’t take anything, he didn’t leave anything behind either. That is until Lance’s eyes fall on his desk. There, a note barely folded lying as if it was always there. “Oh and he even had time to leave a note. How thoughtful. What type of mockery that bastard-“ He interrupts himself reading the small letters in Keith’s handwriting on the paper.

He can’t believe his eyes, his mouth almost trembling, indecisive about what to do. The note catches him by surprise, saying: “Happy birthday, my prince.” Lance’s lips betray him, making him smile, even with the bittersweet taste in his tongue. His anger being numbed for a tick too long, opening a spot for something very close to happiness. He hates how easily Keith can manipulate him.

**& & _Two months later..._**

Pidge is thrilled to visit such an advantageous place as Olkarion, with the machines and the ‘tech wizards’, as Coran before referred the inhabitants of the planet. Olkarion is a hospitable planet full of water, green plant life, and a safely breathable atmosphere. It reminds them of home and they look at Hunk, just to check if he’s looking at the trees with the same fond look the Green paladin themselves have. He is. The two of them share a smile, recognizing each other’s feelings.

They don’t have much time to discuss with the Olkari as much as they wanted about their technology, but they make a mental note to try and convince the Alteans for the team to stay a little longer after the mission.

It’s not that complicated. It’s technically a simple plan, with not too much detail. But that does not mean there isn’t much to go wrong, their conscience reminds them. But the team have been through worse. Pidge’s brave side retorts.

 _Focus_. They tell themselves, holding the controls a little tighter. _It’s easy. In and out_. _Use Green, because of their stealth capabilities. I’m the drop ship. Take Lance and Hunk to the roof, find a safe position, wait for them to scan the building to find the Olkari and rescue them. Easy, right? Yeah, not so much._

After the drop, Pidge almost catches themselves praying to any entity to protect the two of them, to make sure the team is safe. For a scientist and a skeptical person as Pidge, it seems almost funny to pray to someone, but seeing their only friends in danger moves the Green Paladin to make impossible things, they discovered.

“King Lubos?” Pidge hears Lance calling through the comms, making them realize they doze off. They lick their dry lips, almost shivering with anticipation. _It’s almost go time._ They notice they are sweating under the gloves _._

"Yes? Who are you? The jesters I requested?"

"Looks like someone came to rescue you, Lubos." Pidge hears a familiar voice. They decide to turn on their camera, the one they insisted to install on the team's helmets to ease collecting photos and data. “Hunk, you’re my eyes, okay?” The camera moves up and down, Hunk nodding to them. They see purple, as they expected, but it’s not any Galra. _Oh, it can't be_.

“Keith.” Lance purrs, pointing his weapon in his direction. The Galra boy has his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Pidge would give anything to take that smirk off his face. “Long time no see, huh? What was the last time we saw each other?”

The camera turns fully to Keith. “I believe it was your birthday, you highness.” _Wait, Lance’s birthday already passed?_ Why didn’t they know that?

He clicks his tongue. “Oh, that’s right.” The attention back to Lance, showing him stiffing at each passing tick. “You didn’t even stay for the celebration.”

“I figured I wasn’t invited.”

“As if that ever stopped you before.” Lance smirks. “If I recall, most of my parties you barged in.”

“You love surprises.” Keith shrugs. “It was my gift.”

“Enough with the flirting, please.” Pidge intervenes, rolling their eyes. Hunk hushes them, afraid to even move. “Hunk, Keith can’t hear me.”

“Alright, Mullet. You get out of our way and I might have mercy on you.”

“Mercy?” Keith snorts, ridiculing Lance's threat. “Please, you would never have the guts to do anything-“

The sentence could perfectly end there, but Pidge notices Keith was going to say something else. They almost dare to say the ending was supposed to be ‘to me’, but that seems too personal for them to nudge on.

“Don’t test me.” The prince warns. “Free the Olkari right now.”

“Or what? You and your mockery of a team are going to do what?”

“You better show me some respect, peasant.” Lance says with humor, but Pidge can feel the anger hiding right around the corner, in the edge of his voice.

“You’re no king.” Keith snarls, making Lance flinch. Pidge feels fire in their veins, furious with how he just talked to their friend. Before the Green Paladin can think of a way to blast him with the lion’s weapon, Keith moves rapidly, out of their sight. He traps the Olkari King with a knife on his throat, Hunk shows them after a moment of confusion. “Okay, we're walking out of here! Anyone tries to stop us and Lubos gets it!"

Lance and Hunk gasp in shock. The three of them never taking their eyes of the Galra soldier, all tense. A silence fall upon them, everyone expecting for the first attack.

“I can’t live this lie anymore.” One of the Olkari servants says, breaking the silence. “He sold us. He turned his back on our people to save his own skin. Lubos has been pampered since he came to help the Galra.”

"I'm doing this for my people! They wanted to fight the Galra, but they are too powerful! The Galra could destroy us!" Lubos says, frowning. Pidge realizes everything on the plan, including its goal, went wrong. They groan, frustrated, their mind going a hundred miles per tick to find a next step for them to free this planet. Voltron can’t fault these people.

"So, you helped enslave your people to build some super weapon?" Lance asks indignant, almost spitting the words with contempt.

"Don't make me the bad guy! He forced me to do it!” Lubos almost cries.

Pidge decides it’s better to not stall any longer. They need a new plan and explain the Olkari what a lie they have been living. Green opens a whole on the wall, making sure to not hit anyone that matters. “Your ride is here.” They announce.

The ride back to the forest is silent, everyone lost at their own thoughts. Pidge hears the Altean prince sigh, seeing him taking off his helmet by the corner of their eye. He nervously rubs the back of his neck. Pidge concludes he’s probably thinking the same as them: _how are they going to tell the rest of the citizens about this?_

"Lubos, What's going on?" The current leader of the group in the forest asks. Pidge feels sad for them. They look at Hunk, by instinct, searching for reassurance. He looks as worried as they do, making the Green Paladin then search for Lance. The prince almost doesn’t seem like himself, his jaw clenched, fierce look in his eyes and his posture impeccable. Pidge almost flinches at the vision.

"While your countrymen starved, _King_ Lubos was well taken care of by the Galra. He willingly helped them build that cube and helped them enslave his _own people_." Lance spits every word with disgust, acid wouldn’t hurt as much as his tone. Pidge realizes the situation hurts personally on Lance. They conclude it’s because he was one day going to be king himself. If what Lubos did bothered the Earthlings, Pidge can’t bring themselves to imagine how that would affect actual royalty, that has - _had_ , they have to reminds themselves - a commitment to their people. The Green Paladin looks at Lance with different eyes, sympathetic even. "I know you're devastated, but it's time to be strong and use your Olkari spirit to fight alongside Voltron and take back your planet!" The prince says, now using his diplomatic tone. Pidge is almost surprised with the change.

"Lubos, how could you?" Thats makes them look away, saddening their heart.

"I- I was only trying to-"

"Enough! We must free our people!"

The team decides to go after the cubes with their lions. Lance tells them he will stay behind to help some Olkari on the ground. “I will be right behind you.” He tells hurriedly.

Team Punk reporting for duty, Pidge thinks, as soon as they climb on their respective lions. Hunk tries the only way, just hitting on the cube. Realizing there’s little to no damage, Pidge tries a more drastic tentative.

"Did it just absorb our lasers?" The Green Paladin looks at the screen, staring at an as confused Hunk. They decide to call the prince. Just the two of them can’t do much to help. “Where are you, loser?” They ask loudly, smile appearing by instinct as soon as they see Lance’s determined look. “You’re missing the party!”

Lance’s face appear on their screen, the prince smirking, his teeth shining almost as bright as his crown. “Peasant, I _am_ the party.”

Pidge snorts, almost relieved.

"All right, team, look alive.”

"Nothing we do is working!” Hunk whines, giving a dirty look at the cubes.

“Maybe if we use more firepower… Hunk, use your blaster!"

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Pidge almost screams with desperation, trying to avoid the attack.

“What do you suggest, Pidge?” Lance asks, before Hunk could throw his shot.

“The cube is like Coran’s. It echoes, firing back whatever we fire. It's learning! Making its own versions of our weapons to use against us.”

"We can't just sit here. We've got to move!" He says, eager for action.

The team decides to attack it the three of them all at once. It can’t get much worse, can it? The answer is always yes. It’s scientifically proven.

As soon as Lance is hit back with ice, he goes down to the land. Pidge is hit right after, not only by the cube, but by another Galra ship, the power of Green going off.

“Pidge, can you hear me?" A familiar voice echoes through the cockpit. _Ryner_.

"Yeah. Wait. How am I hearing you?"

"That's not important right now. We need to get your lion back up and running. I think we can heal your lion's body, but you must bond with its spirit if it is to fly again." They instruct.

"But I thought we bonded already."

"Your bond must be stronger.” Ryner says, patiently. "Remember what I said: you, the lion, the Olkari, we are all made of the same essence." The Green Paladin focus as much as they can, controlling their breathing. The lights start to change its color, showing the lion is operational again.

"Where are you, Pidge? We need you!" Hunk cries and they are almost relieved to be able to hear it.

"Guys, hang on!" They announce, grabbing the controls firmly. “I know what to do!” The green lion flies as quick as its allowed, to give one last try.

The Cubes start to go down with the vines, giving in. Pidge continues with the blasts, scared is not enough. They can see by the corner of their eyes, Galra retreating. That’s makes a victorious smile appear on their face.

"Vines. Well, that is not the way I thought a giant cube of death would go down." Hunk says under his breath, amazed by the clever solution. Pidge lets that go to their head. “But Lance is still down. We need to pick him up!”

The two of them land carelessly on the ground, too worried at their friend. Pidge is the first to get out of their lion, running as fast as they can to the Blue lion. Hunk is not so far behind, contacting with the princess and Coran through the comms. Arriving at the Blue lion, they notice broken ice surrounding their feet. Lance escaped from there, but the cockpit is empty. That makes their stomach twist. They sprint again, following a thin trace of water - melted ice - they spotted on the ground.

Pidge stops at the sight of Keith and Lance fighting each other. They unlock their bayard, once again, to point at Keith. But before doing so, they can’t avoid getting distracted by the boys’ sync in battle. Even if against each other.

Keith is clearly more skilled with hand-to-hand combat, but somehow they seem to fight in the same level. Lance evades from the galra’s strikes gracefully while Keith guides Lance to follow his rhythm. Pidge notices that even when any of them hits, it doesn’t misbalance neither of them. It almost seems like sparring. Or dancing. With your fists.

Pidge tilts their head to the side, trying to understand how both of them match. Keith and Lance fight with ice and fire and, if you’re not paying attention, that’s all you can see. But now, analyzing their every move, the green paladin recognizes that even the strongest of the blows does not hurt as it should. _They’re holding back?_

Pidge hears Hunk’s steps and they rise a hand to stop him from intervening. “Are you seeing the same as me?” They ask not taking their eyes off the fight.

“Uhm, that they’re almost killing each other? Yes, I can clearly see that.”

“Except that they are not.” Pidge corrects.“Hunk, really look at them. They are barely hurting each other.”

Hunk takes his eyes away from Pidge to look at the two boys in front of them. He looks as confused as the green paladin does.

Pidge notices that they are hitting each other hard. Both of them are actually attacking. But something seems off. Because even though they are striking and punching and kicking, neither of them is winning. _Why are they doing this? What’s the point of fighting if no one is going to win?_ They try to look as close as they can without interrupting the prince and the galra.

“I think they-“ Hunk starts, but interrupts himself. He seems to reconsider what he’s about to say.

“What? You think what?” Pidge asks curious, finally looking at Hunk.

“It’s like they don’t want to fight.” He starts, cautious with his words.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they are hitting, but they’re holding back every move.” Hunk looks uncertain with his hypothesis. “They don’t actually want to hurt each other. They are going easy with each other.”

Pidge rises their hand to adjust their glasses, but they realize they are still wearing their helmet. “That makes sense.” That gives the yellow paladin assurance to go on with his theory.

“I mean, we both fought against Keith. He’s way faster than this and way more lethal. By now, we would be on the floor.”

Pidge scrunches their nose with the thought. “I suppose.” They admit bitterly.

“And I mean, Lance is great and all. He’s been training way longer than the both of us, but there’s no way he is that good at hand-in-hand combat.”

“He only trains with his rifle.” Pidge completes. “And somehow he’s fighting as good as Keith.”

“And Lance’s bayard is right there on his hips.” Hunk points and the green paladin tries to locate where he’s pointing.

“So that means, he could’ve taken out Keith with his weapon.” Pidge glances at them with a grin, now realizing what’s happening. “Huh, maybe Keith has a soft spot for Lance and vice-versa.”

Hunk opens a tiny smile with the comment.

“Well, if we depend on them to go home, we might stay here a while. And I’m tired.” Pidge says, pulling Hunk to start running again. “So let’s end this for them.”

“Oh, man. But I don’t want to fight Keith.”

“You grab Lance and I get Keith.”

“Okay.” Hunk nods his head. “Wait, Pidge no!”

But it’s too late. Pidge sprints, getting impulse to trip the Galra soldier. Keith wasn’t expecting the blow, so he falls easily on the floor, groaning. Pidge laughs as they get up rapidly, and go back to running.

“Wha-“ They hear Lance’s voice full of surprise.

“Your highness, time to go.” Hunk interrupts the prince, lifting him as he puts him on his shoulders. “I’m so sorry.” He says, sounding he’s about to cry. Pidge rolls their eyes.

After a few seconds of shock, Lance manages to say something. “Hunk, buddy. You can put me down, I can run on my own.” Hunk stops abruptly, putting Lance on the ground, before starting to run again.

“We didn’t want to risk you going to kiss your boyfriend’s bruises and delay our escape.” Pidge teases, trying not to huff.

“Boy- Boyfriend!?” Lance yelps. “What? No! No, no, no.”

“Yeah, right.” Hunk chuckles.

They get to their lions, entering as fast as they can. Pidge throws their body into their chair, feeling adrenaline through their veins. When the three of them are out of the Galra soldier’s reach, close to the Olkari forest, the green paladin sighs in relief. “The mission was a success, princess.” Pidge announces on the comms, receiving excited responses from the rest of the team.

Lance praises Pidge the rest of the night, even convincing Allura and Coran himself that they got to stay at least for the night. “To celebrate Pidge!” He says, happy with their victory. So, team Voltron stays for a ball, but Pidge is more interested to make all the questions they couldn’t before. It’s the best party they have ever attend yet!

“You know, for people who apparently hate each other, you two spend an awful lot of time together.” Hunk starts, a teasing smile on his lips. The team is sitting on their designated table, waiting for the dinner to get served, and they all chuckle. “Getting up close and personal.”

“Everyone knows closeness is used to establish dominance.” Lance explains factual, sipping his drink. “You know, Keith always gets distracted whenever I flirt with him.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. And what do the longing looks establish?” Pidge asks, almost laughing with Lance’s reaction.

“It’s a stare contest. Come on, Hunk.” Lance laughs nervously, searching for a little backup. “If you two are implying that I like Keith, I don’t.” They both raise their eyebrows. He says nothing, but at the same time he says so much. “I don’t! He disgusts me.”

“Yeah, I obsess and talk about people who disgust me all the time too.” The yellow paladin says, winking at Pidge. They both snigger.

“I don’t talk about him all the time.” Lance whines.

“You really kinda do.” Allura is the one to answer.

The Altean prince crosses his arms over his chest, pouting. He looks away, refusing to look at any of them. Pidge rolls their eyes. “Drama queen.” They mutter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it was pretty long and I hope you enjoyed. I know there was not as much Klance as we all wished, but this chapter is just preparing us for what's to come, if I can say that. Just stay with me, okay? I've it all planned and I think you're going to like where this is headed.
> 
> Oh, also tell me if you prefer longer chapters or shorter (don't be shy, you can comment on my fics). Also, if you thought something was offensive, please tell me and I'll be glad to edit the chapter. 
> 
> (You might realize with time things are very out of the chronological order from the show, but I figured it would be easy to just use a plot from some of the episodes, not necessarily in order. It kinda doesn't matter to me if they are out of order, because it doesn't get in the way of the fic. Don't mind me changing a few things. Fics are for that, after all.)
> 
> Again, happy holidays and a happy new year, everyone! Hope you have the best time. 
> 
> You can talk to me on my twitter account: heyvivalapluto. xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed it. i can’t promise i’m going to be able to post by schedule, but i’ll try. please have patience with me. also, if anyone feels offended by something i wrote, please tell me and i’ll try to correct it. if I committed any grammatical error, please forgive me. English is not my first language. and don’t be shy, you can comment as much as you like :D
> 
> you can find me at my tumblr: heyvivalapluto. 
> 
> oh, also:  
> | Pinterest Board for Galra Keith: https://pin.it/oq9FpPQ  
> | Pinterest Board for Altean Lance: https://pin.it/1fbMpjg


End file.
